Roses of Autumn
by Peach Wookiee
Summary: The tragic love story of Max Pegasus and his beloved Cecelia. My first attempt at romantic tragedy. Read and review. Chapter V: The Budding. After a two-year absence, it's back! Thanks for your patience!
1. Roses of Autumn Prologue

Roses of Autumn

_Welcome, original Yu-Gi-Oh fans to my first Roseshipping fic. This is probably the first romantic tragedy fic I've ever done and I thought who better to do than Max Pegasus and his beloved lost Cecelia? This will follow the story of how they met, fell madly in love, got married and how she tragically died._

Maximilian Julius Pegasus stared at the grave marker, a pathetic symbol marking the place where one so beautiful lay in eternal slumber in this world. _Other men build monuments for their lost loves. Others have killed for the women they love. And yet, all I could do was be there as she slipped away…_

There were words chiseled into the tombstone. _Cecelia Anne Pegasus. _The day she was born and the day she died followed. Also chiseled in the cold stone was the image of blooming roses and a verse… _The rose may bloom and die, but the memory of its beauty lasts forever in those who have seen it._ It was a verse meant to remind those left behind in this world that the beloved one who had left was still with them in some way. However, to the man that stood at the grave, those words were just that.

_Why did I only have her__ for such a short time? _The twenty-year-old man asked this question of… he didn't know who or what he asked. He just knew at this moment that he asked it. _Why didn'__t I have her for longer? Why were we cheated out of our time together? We didn't even have a decade before…_ And so he remembered as tears ran down his face…

_And that is the beginning of Roses of Autumn. What do you think? Read and review!_


	2. A Sown Seed

Chapter I: A Sown Seed

_Welcome, dear readers, to the new installment of "Roses of Autumn."__ Thank you, syrusfanatic12, for the first review on this fiction, and I hope there are more! __As I said, this is my first attempt at romantic tragedy and I'd love to know how I'm doing.__ For those of you who are wondering, __the first chapter takes place about 16 years before what the US knows as __the start of the Yu-Gi-Oh series, and this latest chapter begins 25 years before the beginning of the series. My fellow Dysfunctional Sibling, WhiteAsukalover (thanks, brother dear!) has told me that Max and Cecelia were fourteen when they met, but they looked much younger than that in the anime. So they are eleven years old in this tale, so they'll have 9 years together._

_Disclaimer: I so don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!__ I just write fan fiction and tend to like fluffy stuff._

Eleven-year-old Max hated his suit. He hated having to be at these stupid parties where his mom and dad paraded him around like one of their show ponies. _I missed the newest Funny Bunny cartoon for this?! I don't care if Harrison Ford is here, as cool as that is. I'd rather be in the house watching my cartoons. But, oh noooo… I had to get dressed for this stupid soiree and press flesh with these people._ He shook hands with oil tycoons, Hollywood celebrities and other business people and was bored out of his skull. His amber eyes had storm clouds in them, and though his silvery blonde hair was just so, it seemed to crackle with his angry energy.

"Max?" James Pegasus called.

"Yes, Daddy?" Max mentally sighed, dreading another meeting with another boring grown-up. But he walked over anyway. His father was chatting with a very jolly-looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes, while his mother, Marina, was chatting with a woman with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Max, these are Sven and Inga Carlson and this is their daughter, Cecelia," James said. And then Max took one look…and fell in love. In front of him was the most gorgeous creature he had ever seen. She had pale golden hair, baby blue eyes and was wearing a lovely blue dress that accented her features perfectly. She smiled sweetly at him and held out her hand politely.

"Hi, my name is Cecelia," she said, sounding as sweet and polite as she looked. "You must be Max."

_And I must be in heaven!_ "Yes, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Cecelia. Would you like to go get some punch?" he asked, shaking her hand, then taking it politely.

"I'd be delighted." And the children walked over to the punch bowl, hand in hand.

"Um…" Max wasn't sure what to say to a girl, so he decided to compliment her. "Um, I like your dress, Cecelia. It goes with your eyes."

Cecelia Anne Carlson had to this point believed that boys were "yucky." However, this Max Julius Pegasus was anything but "yucky." "Thank you, Max. Um…I think your suit looks nice."

"My dad made me wear it. I hate it," Max said before really thinking about it.

Cecelia quickly reconsidered her position. "Well… I hate it, too!" They both laughed. "Do you like…cartoons? I like Funny Bunny and I had to miss the new episode today because of this party."

"So did I," Max answered, surprised. "You didn't want to be here either?"

"Not really," she answered, not meeting his eyes, then looking straight into them, "until just a couple of minutes ago." Then a song by Billy Joel, "She's Always a Woman," began to play.

Max swallowed, and then smiled. "Miss Carlson, may I have the honor of dancing with you?"

Cecelia smiled, blushing a bit as well. "Mr. Pegasus, I would be honored if you would dance with me." And with that, he took her out onto the dance floor. Max had never danced with a girl before and in fact, stepped on Cecelia's toes a couple of times. She also stepped on his toes a few times, but on the whole, the two kids had fun together.

At the end of the evening, as the Pegasus family said good-bye to the retreating guests, Max and Cecelia talked.

"Think we could talk on the phone tomorrow?" he asked.

"I'd like that," she answered. "Thanks for a fun evening, Max."

"Thank you, Cecelia," he answered. "We'll talk tomorrow. Bye!"

"So, Max, it looks like you've made a friend in young Cecelia," James Pegasus said to his son. "That's quite good."

"I think I love her, Daddy," Max said seriously, but his father and mother laughed.

"All in good time, Maxie," Marina said, "all in good time."

"But I really think I do, Mom!" James and Marina looked at their son, and then at each other.

"You'll talk to her tomorrow, son, all right?" James said. "Now let's get you ready for bed." Max nodded. For an hour after he was safely tucked into bed, the eleven-year-old boy thought of the girl he'd met. And again, he saw her as the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on.

_She's an angel, and I've fallen in love with her,_ Max thought. _Someday, we'll always be together._ And with that, he fell asleep.

_And that's the end of the true chapter one! Again, thanks to syrusfanatic 12, and thanks to those of you who are reading this fic! Please let me know how I'm doing. Read and review, folks._


	3. Germination

Chapter II: Germination

_Hello again, loyal readers! Terribly sorry for the delay in getting a new chapter of "Roses of Autumn." Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth waiting for. __And thanks for your reviews, guys! It's nice to know how I'm doing and to have suggestions on how to improve when you have them. One of you__ wondered why I chose to make Max so enamored with young Cecelia. In the flashback that we saw when Tea was reading Max's diary, it was obvious that Max was hung up on Cecelia from day one. Initially, this would best be described as a crush. Kids become infatuated for a moment and then forget. "I love him, Mommy and I want to marry him," the little girl says. But the next day, her fancy turns to another little boy who shares his cookies with her in the lunchroom. This is not one of those tales.__ But it won't get all mushy right away. Real love may begin with physical attraction, but it seems that it must be built__ on friendship too. So Max and Cecelia will be friends __first __and that will develop into something far stronger._

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! STOP CALLING ME!!!**_

It had been over six months since Max Pegasus and Cecelia Carlson had met at his father's party. The two children had felt a mutual attraction to each other, but that initial heat had died down. Instead, the two had started a close friendship. They found that they had a great deal in common, beginning with their love of Funny Bunny, an older cartoon that had come to the United States around the time that Astro Boy had.

"Max?" Cecelia asked as they were watching the cartoon one afternoon after school.

"Yeah, Cece?" he answered, keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

"Do you like any other cartoons besides Funny Bunny?"

Max grinned at the seriousness in his best friend's tone of voice. "Cecelia, you act like you're asking if I'm working for the Soviets or something! Of course I like other cartoons! I love the Road Runner, Bugs Bunny…" And he went on for about ten minutes, telling her about his favorite cartoons. When he finished explaining his likes in great detail, he looked up and noticed that she had a dazed expression on her face. "Cece, did I just bore you to death? I must've sounded like a lecturer or something! I'm sorry."

"Max, you didn't bore me," the girl answered, her bright blue eyes losing their dazed look. "I think it's neat that you know so much about cartoons. It's just a lot to take in all at once." And now Funny Bunny was over. "Hey, now that cartoons are over, do you want to do something else?"

"Sure. What do you want to do?" he asked. Today, the two kids were wearing jeans and T-shirts and Cecelia's long sun-spun golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The evening Max and Cecelia had met, she looked like a Disney fairytale princess. But in the days that followed, Cecelia showed that she was not just a pretty little princess who sat around waiting for some guy to rescue her. And those princesses wouldn't do what Cecelia now suggested.

"Let's go out and look for snakes." Max looked at her in surprise.

"You want to look for snakes?" he asked.

"Yeah. You aren't afraid, are you?" she asked, her blue eyes full of challenge.

"I'm game if you are." And so the kids went looking for snakes. "Cece," Max asked when they were on his mansion's grounds with a burlap bag and his mother's salad tongs, "why are we looking for snakes?"

"I want to study them. Besides, I have to for school. But that's okay," Cecelia said, smiling. An hour later, the kids had seen several garter snakes but hadn't captured one.

"Cece?"

"Yeah, Max?"

"Why don't we go back and get some hot chocolate? It's getting cold and I don't think we'll find any more snakes today. And your mom will be here in a little bit, and…you're bleeding!" And indeed the little girl was bleeding. There was a cut to her palm that she hadn't noticed until Max pointed it out.

"Oh, man, when did that happen? Well, then, let's get the first aid kit." Max nodded and pulled out the kit. He cleaned her cut with disinfectant which made tears come to her eyes. "Ouch!"

"I'm sorry, Cece. Let's get some ointment on it." He placed the ointment on the cut, followed by a Funny Bunny band-aid. "Shall we go back now?"

"Yeah." They virtually ran back to the house and the cook gave them two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. They sat in the kitchen, enjoying the sweet drink. "Max?"

"Yeah, Cece?" he asked, and Cecelia pulled her hair out of the ponytail, changing partially back to the near-princess that she looked like.

"Thanks." He smiled at her, and they enjoyed each other's company.

_And that, my friends, is the end of the latest installment of "Roses of Autumn."Thanks to my previous chapters' reviewers, syrusfanatic12, greeneyeswhitedragon and punkeymonkey89! Please read and review this one, folks!_


	4. Sprouting

Chapter III: The Sprouting

_Hello, everyone and welcome back to the Roseshipping story I have created. I'm terribly sorry it took so long to update, but other stories came up and I had to think about where to go with this. Anyway…I finally figured it out and I sincerely hope it was worth the wait for you, my faithful readers! When last we left our young couple, Max and Cecelia were eleven years old and hunting for snakes after watching Funny Bunny. Now, it is some three years later, and in my timeline, it is 1981. Ronald Wilson Reagan is President of the United States and it is the rise of the Baby Boomer generation. Max Pegasus and Cecelia Carlson are now fourteen…_

_**Disclaimer: Peach Wookiee doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh.**_

Maximilian Pegasus looked at himself in the mirror nervously. "How did she talk me into this?" he asked his reflection. "Why Cece asked me to the dance, I don't know…"

"She thinks you are a nice guy, Max, that's why," James Pegasus said, coming into his son's bedroom. "Max…son, you're at an age where things are changing. What are you feeling towards her?"

"I…Dad…it's hard to explain, you know? We've been friends since we were eleven and we still are…"

"Do you remember what you told me when you met her, Maxie?" James asked, smiling.

"I said that I was in love with her…but we became friends, Dad…we're still friends." The truth of the matter was that Max was in love with her; however, he'd gotten used to the comfort of friendship. James sensed it.

"Max, do you love her though?" His father's amber eyes met his very seriously. "Don't fear your feelings, son…" And he left the room, smiling.

Max swallowed. "Max, should you tell her what you're feeling?" he asked his reflection. He sighed. "You should…tell her what you're feeling when you're dancing tonight…a slow song…" He straightened his dark blue suit and red tie over a crisp white dress shirt. "This isn't going to be easy…"

For three years, Max and Cecelia had been inseparable. Since the night of his father's party, the two kids had spent every available moment together that they could. They'd seen each other through bullies, snake hunts, Max's art classes and certain body changes. Max just hoped that their friendship wouldn't be spoiled by what he might bring himself to say as he danced with the young woman he deeply cared about. He now headed down the stairs to wait for his date. His mother was waiting.

Marina Pegasus, a woman with silvery blonde hair like her son's and green eyes smiled as Max came down the stairs. "Oh, honey, you look so handsome! My little boy looks so grown up!"

"Mom!" Max yelped, embarrassed and blushing.

"I'm sorry, honey, it's just…you're not my baby anymore…" Marina said. "You have fun with Cecelia tonight and don't worry about what will come. Your friendship is strong and it will survive. Your father told me what you talked about. It'll be all right, sweetie."

Max went up and hugged his mother. "Thanks, Mom…"

Ten minutes later, Cecelia arrived with her father and Max climbed into the backseat of the Carlsons' car with his…_is she just a friend?_

"Hi, Max…you look really nice…" Cecelia said, smiling. This evening, she was dressed in a dark rose pink dress with a puffy tulle skirt and matching pink kitten-heeled flats. Her hair was brushed and tied back slightly with a rose-colored ribbon. She most often wore blue, but tonight had gone for something different, which heightened her blush.

"And you look absolutely stunning, Cece…" Max returned. "All the girls will be wishing they looked as beautiful as you…and the boys will probably wish they'd asked you out…"

"They did…but I told them no and that I had a boy I was going with already…" she said, placing her hand over his gently. "I wanted to go with you…and nobody else." This caused Max to blush and understand that what he wanted to say to Cece would be easier to say than he'd imagined.

They arrived at Cecelia's private school where kids were entering the dance, excited. And then they saw Cecelia with Max. "Oh, it's Cece and she actually has a date…" one girl said snidely.

"Yeah, and it looks like another girl!" a boy added nastily.

"Excuse me, but my name is Maximilian Julius Pegasus, and I won't tolerate you making such comments about Cece."

"Max…" Cecelia pulled close to him, hating the taunts and hoping they'd say no more if she and Max just walked away.

But another boy laughed. "You won't tolerate it? You look like you couldn't win a fight…and she's a loser!" Max's eyes glowed with rage.

"She is no loser and you will take that back!" Max growled. Now this other boy was a bit larger than Max and probably outweighed him by a good 20 pounds. The boy, big with blonde hair and blue eyes, went up and grabbed the smaller boy by the collar.

"Don't get smart, tiny…" That was a mistake. Max placed his hands on the guy's arms and flipped him over with a judo maneuver. The behemoth boy was on the ground and on his back, gasping for breath. The other kids looked at him and then at Max.

"Don't call me tiny. And leave Cece alone…or you answer to me…" Max offered Cecelia his arm and together, they entered the school's gym. It looked like any old gym in the United States decorated for a school dance. It had balloons and crepe paper streamers all over the place and tables were loaded with punch and dance snacks like pretzels, potato chips and cupcakes. "Cece, would you like a little punch before we dance?" the fourteen-year-old boy asked. She nodded and he got cups of punch for them from a table. "Are you all right?"

"You were amazing, Max…No one has ever done that to Andy before…he thinks I'm…"

"Never mind what he or anyone else thinks…Cece…you are the most wonderful girl in this gym…" And then, Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman" began playing. "May I have this dance?" he asked much as he had over three years ago at his parents' estate.

"Max, I would be delighted…" He swung her out onto the dance floor and it seemed as if they were the only two people in that gymnasium as they danced.

"Cecelia?" he whispered in her ear.

"Yes, Max?"

"I have something I need to tell you…" He was blushing a little bit.

"What is it?" she asked as he twirled her around.

"I love you…"

_And that is where I end this chapter. Max has finally made his declaration to Cecelia…So what will happen next? Thanks to my last reviewers and I hope you have been waiting for the continuation…Stay tuned, read and review. _


	5. The Budding

Chapter IV: The Budding

_Hello again, everyone and welcome to another chapter of "Roses of Autumn." I know you're probably all wondering what took me so long. This story is different than the others I've written. I think I have to be in a particular mood to write it. And you're all in luck as I'm in the mood. So we continue with a love that we all know will not end happily for the couple._

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. If I did, some of the series would be TV-14.**_

_Author's note: There has been another time skip. Three years have passed since the junior high school dance and it is now late 1984. President Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush have won re-election. Also, the Band Aid charity has been founded to raise money to fight famine in Ethiopia and Western Australia has banned capital punishment. Now it is Christmastime and a young couple is having a good time._

Max Pegasus, age 17, smiled as he came out of a store on a cool December day. He had succeeded in his special mission and knew Cecelia would love what he'd just gotten her. It was nearly Christmas and he'd worked to get her a very special gift. They were high school juniors and Max knew he wanted to be with Cecelia forever. They had seen each other through awkward growth spurts, pimples and that incident in gym where Max had ripped his pants and CeCe had let him borrow her sweater. Those and other incidents had cemented their emotional and spiritual bond in Max's mind. Cecelia seemed to think the same way, and had taken little to no notice of other boys in her class. 'She will love this,' he thought. 'She has to!' He held a small bag in his hand, which contained CeCe's present.

Meanwhile, Cecelia Carlson, also 17, was looking at another store for a gift for her beloved. She had grown into a very beautiful young woman in the intervening three years. She had a wonderful figure and her features had become very mature. 'Hmmm,' she thought, looking at the merchandise in the art supply store, 'what do I get for him?' She was frankly bewildered at what to get for him, but not because she didn't know for sure what he liked. It was because there was so much he would like. In the past three years, she had watched him become a very talented young artist. His father hadn't taken well to it at first, but then fourteen-year-old Max had won an art contest and sold one of his works for quite a bit of money. It had been a simple sketch of Cecelia as she sat under a tree, looking out at San Pablo Bay. She had been honored to be part of Max's success and reconciling his father to his son's chosen career as an artist. And now, Cecelia wanted to give Max a gift to help him even more. The salespeople weren't much help, but not for lack of trying. And so she kept looking through the shop, still bewildered.

As fate or destiny would have it, Max was walking down the street and walked by the art shop and noticed his beloved, dressed in a pink sweater, white jeans and brown penny loafers, looking rather confused. He could guess what Cecelia was probably doing today and part of him thought he shouldn't disturb her, but the rest of him hated to see her looking so lost and confused. So he headed into the shop.

Cecelia turned at the sound of the bell on the shop door as it opened. The shop owner greeted Max, knowing the young man by sight. The young woman blushed deeply at the sight of her boyfriend coming in, wearing khaki pants, a blue sweater and a pair of sneakers. "CeCe, I didn't expect to see you here! You look so lost," Max said, coming up to his beloved. "What are you doing at my favorite art supply store? Do you want to take up art?" he asked curiously.

Cecelia blushed deeply. "Max…oh! I didn't want you to find out!"

"Find out?" he asked. And then it hit the seventeen-year-old young man like a ton of bricks. "Oh, CeCe…I ruined your surprise for Christmas…I'm so sorry!"

Cecelia smiled. "Max…darling, I didn't want you to find out, but I couldn't figure out what to give you… I wasn't sure if I should get you a new easel and canvases to go with it, so I guess it's good you're here. You can pick your Christmas present, honey. You can have anything you want in the store…"

It was then that Max realized serendipity had taken over. What he had planned originally was that he would give his gift to her on Christmas Eve, and ask her something along with this gift. Max knew it was a little bit soon, but he also knew he wouldn't change his mind. "I can have anything I want in the store?" he asked, meeting her blue eyes with his amber ones. "Seriously?"

Cecelia nodded. "I checked. You can have whatever you want…"

Max held her gaze. "Well…Cecelia…that easel is very nice. And that oil paint set is a quality set, but…well, there is one thing I truly want in this store…" He made a big show of looking around at everything in the store and the owner somehow realized that his favorite customer was planning something.

Cecelia was looking around too, wondering what was going through her boyfriend's mind. "What is it, Max? Don't worry about the cost; I can pay…"

"The thing I want," Max stated, "is priceless… It can't be bought… It can only be earned. And I hoped I've earned… her…" He looked in her beautiful eyes with love shining in his and took her soft hand. "Cecelia Anne Carlson, we're not even out of high school, and yet I know that you are my inspiration, my muse… and my love. From the day we met, I knew that we were meant to be." He took a small box out of the bag and held it out to her. She took the box and opened it to reveal a gold bracelet, inset with diamonds at the clasp. She gasped and he asked, "Will you marry me?"

For a long moment, Cecelia stood silent in the art shop. She could see Max in front of her, looking terribly earnest, the old shop owner watching them with a beatific smile. She could also see the display cases with the expensive bright paint sets and the collections of wood, plastic and metal easels. And then a funny and symbolic thing happened. It was a cloudy day in the Northern California town, but as sometimes happens at the perfect moment, a ray of light broke through. The inside of the shop was a little dusty, and the sudden light exposed the dust motes floating through the air. It also illuminated the heavily polished dark wood floor. It might seem like the cliché moment in a romantic comedy or a romantic movie, but to the young man and woman in that shop, it was perfect.

Cecelia smiled, and said, "Yes."

Max grinned. "CeCe…you said yes!"

"Now, Max, since you have me, do you still want a Christmas present from me?" Max did and chose a mahogany easel, plastic palette and a new set of oil paints. Though it wasn't Christmas yet, to them, it was as if it was.

_So even though they're young, Max and Cecelia have decided that they will be married. They won't marry until after high school, but they are getting married. I hope this chapter was worth the wait, everyone. And I'll try to make the next wait shorter! Thank you and please as always read and review!_


	6. Full Bloom

Chapter V: Full Bloom

_Greetings, dear fans of Roseshipping! I am so sorry it has taken over two years to update this tale. For some reason, my muse was not allowing me to continue with this tale. However, it would seem that I now have inspiration. And so I continue the tragic story of Max Pegasus and Cecelia Carlson._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or its related characters. If I did, well… I'd be able to screw the rules because I had money. I also don't own the Abridged Series._

_**Author's notes:**__ There is another time skip. The year is 1989. Max and Cecelia have long since graduated from high school and took separate paths in school. Cecelia attended San Jose State University and earned a BA in Liberal Arts. Meanwhile, Max attended the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, earning a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts (Painting/Drawing). And in the larger world, things have been changing too. George Herbert Walker Bush has become President. The Soviet Union forces, after ten years of bloody battle against the mujahedeen and covert US forces have left Afghanistan. And there is an attempt at revolution against the Communist government in China at Tiananmen Square in May. _

_Originally I intended for Cecelia to die while she and Max were in college, but plans change, so they have had eleven years together. The end begins now._

It was over. The softly perfumed wind wafted through Spartan Stadium as twenty-one-year-old Cecelia Carlson raced to her family and the young man that she planned to spend her life with. Her black graduation gown billowed around her, her blonde hair shimmering in the sunlight underneath the mortarboard with the white tassel attached, signifying her degree in the Humanities division. As she tore past friends and their families, she noticed her beloved held his sketchpad. His right arm was furiously moving over the paper, his hand and the pencil in it a blur. By the time she got to them, he was already putting the pencil back in his special case. "Finished!" he shouted triumphantly, shifting the small pad to a jacket pocket, the better to swing her into his arms.

She kissed him hard. "Max, we did it!" she whooped when they broke apart. "We're graduates, both of us!"

"Yes, Cede! We're done and that means we can finalize the wedding. We can get married in a month if you want. But it has to be what makes you happy, my love," he said, keeping her hands in his. She could feel his hands trembling.

"Max, what will make me happy is being with you. We'll have our jobs, our home, our children…" She felt the tremors grow stronger at that last. "Max?" Her eyes sought his. _What if he doesn't..?_

But he held her blue eyes with his amber ones. "I do want them," he murmured only loud enough for her to hear. "But let's talk about how we go about it later this evening over dinner."

"Over dinner?" she asked, eyes widening. "I thought we weren't doing anything special."

"Can't a man change his mind?" he countered with a slight grin. On other men, it might be mistaken for a smirk, but Cecelia knew better. It was Max's look that said he knew something joyful but wasn't about to explain. So she decided to say nothing more.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

"Max, I can't see a thing!" She could feel his hands holding hers and the pleasantly warm evening wind over her bare shoulders. What obscured her vision was a silken sleep mask that her fiancé had procured from who knew where, but it was obviously not from an airline travel kit.

"I know, Cecelia, but that's the point," he answered, and she could picture the smirk on his face as he said it. "I told you I wanted to surprise you for dinner." She could hear the rustling of the oak trees and the click of her heels against a stone patio. His arm was around her, guiding her into a cushioned seat and then the mask was removed.

Cecelia blinked, her eyes adjusting to the sudden light. They were sitting on the patio of someone's contemporary home, presumably someone Max or his parents knew. The couple was overlooking a valley, the Pacific Ocean a blue line in the distance. The setting sun was painting the valley with red, orange and gold and causing the buildings and greenery below to look ethereal. "Oh, my… Max, this is amazing," she breathed. And then a pale golden eyebrow raised at him. "How long were you planning this?"

"Oh… about a month," he answered, deliberately looking away.

"A month? Max!" she yelped, mock-indignantly. "You said you didn't want to do something like this! However… I'm glad you decided to surprise me. What's for dinner?"

As if by magic, a server came out with their first course, Caesar salad, as well as a bottle of Rhone Syrah red wine from… "1978, the year we met," Max explained, after the server had gone. "This is an excellent vintage from what Dad tells me. I'm still learning the difference."

"We haven't been enjoying this very long…" She and Max had started trying wine in France on their high school senior trip. They hadn't overindulged, choosing to sip while Max sketched his beloved gazing out at the French countryside, holding her glass of chardonnay. "But it is good."

"As for what's for dinner, we're having rib eye steak with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. And for dessert, we're having… I'd like to surprise you, darling."

"More surprises, Max?" Her eyebrows raised. "For all I know, you want to surprise me with a wedding tonight!"

The young man grinned at that. "Oh, no, CeCe, I wouldn't do that to you. But dessert will have a surprise." His hand unconsciously went to his right pants pocket. Cecelia still could not be sure, but she had an inkling of what his surprise might be. And so she waited.

"Well, when should our wedding be?" she asked as they dug into their steaks. Max chewed thoughtfully. In fact, he chewed, took a sip of wine and chewed again. He finally swallowed, but did not answer.

When she asked again, he was swallowing a bite of mashed potatoes. "How about in July?" he suggested finally. "It shouldn't be too hard to book a church…"

"Give me until August. I've got to get a dress and we've got to order flowers," she reminded him. "Unless you really want me to get married in my old prom dress?" The couple shared a laugh at that. The best that could be said of the dress was that it seemed beautiful at the time. Now they saw it as a colossal fashion faux pas. It did, however, still hang in Cecelia's closet.

"Where do you want to get married, CeCe?" There were several churches in the area and Max wanted his bride to have exactly what she wanted.

"Well… it might be hard to get the church in time. You know I always wanted a church with stained glass windows…"

"You mean this church?" Max asked, pulling a brochure from his right pants pocket and handing it to her. Cecelia's pale eyebrow raised. This wasn't what she'd expected! But when she looked at the slight bulge in his pants pocket, she knew there was a surprise yet. "I thought that was the one you wanted, darling, so I talked to the people in charge, paid a deposit and they'll allow us to set the date whenever you're ready."

"All right…" Her eyes lingered on his pants pocket and then moved back to her plate. The steak was tender, the potatoes were pleasantly creamy and the vegetables were perfectly _al dente_. When they were finished, the server cleared the dishes and poured the couple more wine.

"So… what's for dessert?" Cecelia asked, imagining some rather expensive treat from the most exclusive bakery in town. Instead, the server brought out finely designed… "Flower pots?"

Max started to chuckle. "Oh, no, darling. Cecelia, I found something fun for us to have." The server set down their treat, something that looked like worms sticking out of soil. But Max quickly explained. "It's something called dirt cake. I had it at a Mexican restaurant last week and thought it'd be the perfect thing for tonight!"

"What's in it?" she asked, poking it with her spoon. Upon closer inspection, the "worms" were gummy worms!

"Oh, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, Oreo cookies and of course, gummy worms. Remember when we had these watching _**Return of the Jedi?**_"

Cecelia laughed at the memory. When Jabba the Hutt had revealed himself to Han and Leia in said movie, Max had thrown up his container of gummy worms, hitting Cecelia. A few people around them had laughed softly, but the fifteen-year-old girl had picked a gummy worm out of his hair and eaten it. _"I was a little nervous too," _she had admitted softly. Now, she smiled. "I wish you'd had popcorn that afternoon."

"Oh?"

"Yup. It would've been cuter." Again, the couple shared a laugh; Max and Cecelia both pictured him looking rather like a throw pillow his Nana Pegasus had made. It was made of silver velvet and edged with movie theater popcorn yellow puff ball trim. It wasn't the prettiest pillow, but it was a pillow they'd used a lot over the years, so it was an old friend.

They finished the dirt cake and began sipping on freshly brewed Columbian coffee. "Cecelia, I have one more thing for you," Max smiled, reaching into his pocket again. He pulled out a red velvet heart-shaped box and set it on the table, pushing the box toward her. "Open it… please?"

Her fingertips were tickled by the soft fabric covering of the box. She gently opened it to see two shining simple gold wedding bands. "If they're too plain, I'll take them back," he apologized, but she took the band made for him and took his left hand.

"With this ring, I thee wed," she murmured, placing the larger ring on his finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed," he stated in response, placing the smaller band on her finger. Both rings fit perfectly. "We'll do this for real…"

"In August," she said. "How about August thirteenth?"

"Why that day, darling?"

"It seems like a good day," she answered. "I believe thirteen is a lucky number." She couldn't articulate why tonight, and Max chose not to press further. "Max?"

"Yes, CeCe?"

"Remember what we talked about earlier?"

Max smiled again. "Yes… and… I want a little girl like you." He got up from the table, took her hand, guiding her into a spontaneous waltz as the stars came out above them. The moon was a spotlight over them, making the night perfection.

_The moment of pure joy has come. What will the next chapter bring? Find out in "Wilt." See you soon._


End file.
